OSAKA (TR) – A man accused of defrauding a woman over a staged traffic accident died on Thursday while in custody, Osaka Prefectural Police said, reports Kyodo News (Oct. 18).
At around 4:50 p.m., a police officer found Naoki Nagano, 47, lying on his back and not moving in the holding cell at the Katano Police Station. He was confirmed dead about an hour later at the hospital where he was taken.
On Wednesday, police arrested Nagano and four other suspects on suspicion of fraud.
The suspects staged a traffic accident involving a 23-year-old woman living in Osaka Prefecture. After falsely claiming that the woman had caused the accident, they defraud her of 2.1 million yen in cash, police said.
According to police, Nagano was in good health on Thursday morning. He is believed to have died of an illness. However, the cause of death is under investigation.
